In Need Of A Little Personal Assistance
by Flamie Kitten
Summary: Set just before Tony's kidnap, the wayward genius is found tinkering in his basement by his dedicated PA, Pepper Potts- half-an-hour late for the plane. But she has a plan that'll soon set him straight again. Maybe.  Mature Pepper/Tony- in THAT order!


**In Need of a Little Personal Assistance**

He glanced briefly at the clock but didn't really take any of the information in. He absentmindedly tinkered with the circuit board in his hands, the remnants of last night's alcohol still coursing through his veins and causing a pleasant, pink mist to cloud his mind and its thoughts. He didn't really care about anything right then- all of the supposedly "important" things were lurking firmly at the very back of his brain. He had a niggling little feeling that he was supposed to be doing _something_- one of those "important" things, no doubt- but he just couldn't bring himself out of his delicious and so overtly tempting sloth.

He lifted up what he had been messing around with and stared at it in a bored fashion- his interest had already been dulled towards his latest little side-project, and he carelessly tossed the thousand-dollar hunk of metal, wires, and patented Stark genius to one side without even looking where it went. It clunked to the ground in the darkness, amongst a jungle of other such discarded projects, likely to be forgotten forever.

"Sir-"

"Not now, Jarvis," he sighed with a growl- but his mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool.

"Very well, Sir, but-"

"I _said_, not _now_, Jar-"

There was the smooth _swssh_ of his sliding glass door opening and the distinct _click-click_ of heels on the hard floor. Tony slowly closed his eyes and sighed more deeply, running his slightly oily, greasy hands through his hair.

"Yes, Pepper?" he asked in clipped tones before she even spoke, not bothering to turn around to face her.

"Mr. Stark," she replied in equally cool tones. "You are supposed to be halfway to the airport by now."

Tony snapped his fingers and, nodding, rose from his chair with a wan smile- finally turning to face his secretary.

"Ah, of course, I'm gon'na miss my fireworks party down in the Middle-East. Shame."

He shrugged luxuriously and grinned a little at the tight-lipped woman, who was standing with her arms defiantly folded and her left foot clearly about a millisecond away from impatient tapping. He turned and began to walk away from her again, but was suddenly jolted to a halt as her hand reached out and grasped his upper arm firmly.

"Mr. Stark," she snapped curtly. "You _will_ be going to that airport and you _will_ be getting on that plane."

Tony allowed an expression of careful surprise to flicker momentarily over his features before his usual, smug mask resettled over his face and his eyebrows raised slightly in an obvious display of sarcastic amusement.

"And you're the one who's going to make me, are you?" he quipped, gently- so very gently- removing her hand from his arm. It settled at her side again, but her chin was a little tilted and her dark eyes were slightly narrowed. Generally, Pepper had nothing but unerring patience when it came to the antics of her boss- but he had been taking _one step too far_ one too many times, now. His childish "playing truant" was actually starting to grind on her well-honed nerves.

"If necessary," she replied coolly. Tony moved closer to her, so that his face was hovering an inch away from hers. Their lips were a breath away from touching. He admired the strength she was showing- she didn't flinch once, and was returning his gaze look-for-look, never glancing away or letting her eyes flicker. Her arm had lifted and the two had returned to their original, folded position, and her stance was unmoveable- as solid as stone.

"Go on, then."

Instantly, her hands reached for his scruffily-done tie and deftly tugged it loose, swiftly moving onto his shirt buttons.

"You're going to make me even later than I am if you carry on like that," he smirked, allowing her fingers to wander wherever they pleased. Being the semi-narcissist he was, he enjoyed attention in all forms. Especially the ministrations of a woman. _His_ woman.

"I don't know what _you're_ thinking about," Pepper commented with complete professionalism. "But you'd better stop it, now, if you don't mind me saying so, Mr. Stark. I'm merely preparing you for a shower, and that is all."

Tony wrinkled his nose in clear confusion and distaste at this. She continued to work, and slipped his shirt off- now expertly undoing his belt buckle. A brief glimpse of her eyes shocked him a little, for they contained nothing of the carefully hidden, playful twinkle that he had been expecting to see, only a strict determination and a kind of single-mindedness.

Cold, controlled, clinical.

"Shower?" he repeated slowly, stepping out of his trousers as they slipped down his legs and bunched up on the floor. She nodded crisply and clicked her fingers in the direction of his boxer shorts, which he obediently removed and not without a brief smile. Pepper's face seemed to very carefully not respond to her suddenly naked employer, and she gathered the discarded garments and piled them up neatly on a nearby workbench. Needless to say, the neatness of the clothes looked out of place amongst the chaotic array of papers, bolts, tools, and sheet metal that was scattered around everywhere. Pepper then turned back to Tony, who was now standing there with a slightly bemused expression on his face as she critically appraised him- eyes tracing paths up and down his body. Once again, he felt that flush of pride and smugness. The word "embarrassment" did not feature in Tony Stark's vocabulary.

A wry smile finally tinged her lips.

"Yes. You've probably not noticed, Mr. Stark, but you're streaked with oil, dirt, and God knows what else. You want to make a good impression on the generals, don't you? You want to be Tony Stark: the cool, clean-cut, genius billionaire- not Tony Stark: the scruffy, grease-marked, mechanical... what's the term? "Grease monkey"? Is that right, Jarvis?"

"That is the correct term, Miss Potts."

Pepper's smile quickly flickered into the realms of triumphant.

"You see, Mr. Stark? A shower is absolutely necessary if you are to impress your potential business partners. I've put clean towels in the bathroom and Jarvis informed me that the water is an acceptable scalding temperature, as you seem to like it. Of you go, now- don't be too long."

Tony stared at her in clear, unhidden disbelief.

"You're serious, aren't you? I'm standing here, completely fucking _naked_- you _undressed_ me _personally_, for fuck's sake- and your intentions, plain and simple, _all along_, were simply to get me to _shower_?"

"You would be correct in your assumptions, Mr. Stark."

Another long moment of silence, followed, wherein it was clear the mood had somewhat changed.

"Very well, _Miss Potts_."

He left without further comment- crossing the room stark (ha, ha) naked, curtly tapping the code into the door and jogging up the stairs without a single glance back or any indication that he was any longer aware of her presence whatsoever. Pepper had to try _very_ hard _not_ to stare at that perfectly-formed arse...

"I detected tones of disappointment in his vocal patterns, Miss Potts," Jarvis commented- ever the useful AI with a piece of handy information.

"I don't doubt you did, Jarvis," the young woman replied, unclipping her severely pinned-up hair and allowing the orangey-brown locks to fall around her shoulders. With the same technical calmness she had demonstrated while undressing her boss, she began to take off her suit jacket, before seemingly realising something and glancing up at one of the cameras that represented one of the many "eyes" of the house-wide computer system. She tugged the jacket firmly back on. "Jarvis?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Miss Potts?"

"Is there any way you can go into some kind of "standby mode" for, say, twenty minutes?"

"I could run some basic diagnostic checks for approximately that period of time, Miss Potts."

"Great, please do that. Oh, and Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Potts?"

"If you hear... yelling... don't boot back up."

"Understood, Miss Potts."

He closed his eyes, feeling the hot water pounding onto his shoulders and cascading down his back. He just stood there and let it wash everything away- swirling around his feet and being carried away forever... The water was nearly scalding- hot enough to tinge his skin pink, even- and the steam was billowing out around him as hot met cold, clouding the glass of the shower and masking everything in the room with a layer of cool condensation. He sighed and his breath felt chilly in comparison. He then opened his eyes to stare at smooth, liquid-slick tiles. The shower had the same "brand" appearance associated with everything in his "house"- pale colours, a curved design, and the overwhelming feeling of expense and class. Tony rested his forehead on the cold tiles. The alcohol had worn off by now, and he felt tired and numb.

_Why did she do that to me? Doesn't she give a damn anymore? Are we over, or what?_

The questions reverberated endlessly around inside his head, and he shook his it slightly.

_Ah, to hell with her. I'll get drunk on the plane and fuck around as I show off the Jericho missile. Either she'll snap the fuck out of whatever mood she's in, or I'll find some other girl to spend the night with..._

He smirked with self-satisfaction at his plans, and tilted his head backwards, the water drilling on his face- but pleasantly so. He was just about to reach up for one of the various bottles on the shelf next to him, when he felt a sudden, chilly gust curl at his back- stopping him dead in his tracks and causing him to sigh irritably.

"_Hot_, Jarvis, Pepper said keep it _h_-"

A pair of soft, pale arms snaked their way around his waist from behind and he felt a slight, naked form press against his back. He supposed his heart must have at least fluttered a little- for he found himself shuddering slightly at her unexpected touch.

"Have I upset you, Mr. Stark?" a small voice whispered- so very different from the sharp tones of a moment ago.

"Have _I_ upset _you_, Miss Potts?" he replied, lifting his own hands and placing them over hers.

"If I say, "Yes", will you make it up to me?" she said so quietly he had to strain to hear it- and her lips glided over his wet skin, her tongue dipping briefly between his shoulder blades. He shuddered again and his hands clenched hers a little tighter.

"Well, you kinda pissed me off," he grinned eventually. "I think you probably owe me one, too."

He turned around to face her- and they were both smiling. He lifted one hand and cupped her cheek, his thumb resting on her lips, while the other hand rose to grasp her hip and bring her a little closer. Her breasts pressed up against his chest, her nipples grazing his skin a little harder. The water continued to pound on their naked forms, and their skin was flushed- though, of course, that was no longer from warmth alone. They stared at one-another with their smug smiles fixed firmly on their lips. Two strong, intelligent people with equal levels of strength and equal stances on determination. They often infuriated one-another to no end, but those little, secret pockets of passion that came in-between...

Here she was now as only he knew her.

Here he was as only she could make him be.

Pepper's lips slowly parted and she took his thumb into her mouth, her tongue roughly stroking the pad of the digit- causing his own mouth to drop open slightly at the pleasing feeling. Her hands unlinked from around his back and began to wander over his muscled chest, her eyes flickering shut with sudden longing. Tony groaned softly at her touch and his free hand moved from her hip to her lower back, and from there it travelled downwards to her soft-skinned rear, squeezing in response. Her damp, loose hair was gathered around her shoulders and slightly plastered to her face, and her lips pressed around his thumb for a final time, before opening once more and allowing him to shakily reclaim his hand.

She smiled with half-open, misted eyes and tilted her chin, quirking a brow as her eyes flickered downwards momentarily at the erection that was pressing up against her inner thigh. He fixed her with an open and innocent expression, as though to say: "Surely you're not _surprised_?"

His hand shifted to join the other on her rear, but she seemed to ignore this gesture and kneeled down on the slippery floor- held steady by the hands that had been forced to shift up to and hold her by the shoulders. Her face was now directly in line with his naked crotch, her puckered lips perhaps a half-inch away from the head.

"Pepper..." he groaned.

"Already, Tony? I haven't even done anything... yet."

For some reason, the simple thrill of her saying his first name made him lose his concentration a fraction- a fraction too much, in fact, for he was completely unprepared for the wave of pleasure as those perfect lips closed around his erection and that incredibly gifted tongue- in _all_ senses of the word- began to repeat its attentions from before. His breath came out fast, sharp, and all at once and instantly his hands transferred to her head, fingers curling and grasping in her wet hair as she began to ravish his prick, the additional element of the water allowing her movements to be so much more teasingly slicker. Her eyes closed again and she created pressure with her mouth, engulfing Tony's entire length in the hot, wet warmth of her talented mouth.

"_Pepper_...!" he cried again, his voice a little more broken and his knees bucking slightly- and the woman responded to his moan by... stopping. There was a delicious moment of panic and blind confusion as Tony stared wildly down at her- and she gazed up with her deep brown eyes, lusty and a little wild themselves, her pink tongue lashing across her lips in one, smooth moment. But before Tony could even begin to voice any protest or anger, that tongue was suddenly pressed up against the head of his prick, lapping at the sudden wetness that could not be attributed to the shower. His shuddering gasp was more than enough to tell her that the returned pleasure was well-received, and a much-satisfied Pepper firmly grasped the base of his erection in one hand, pumping up and down at a torturously slow rate as her tongue continued to lap at the head. Tony's fingers continued to tighten in her hair, his back arching and his own lips parting completely out of his control. Pepper had always been _incredibly_ good at forcing the kinds of reactions she wanted out of him- but it seemed like all of the stops had been taken out of the program on this one occasion. Her hand began to move a little faster and her probing tongue grew a little more insistent- following the path of her hand and joining the motions with little, licking patterns. Tony was panting and uttering nonsense under his breath- to the tune of "Oh God, oh God, Pepper, yes, oh God...!"

The pleasure continued in tidal waves, and Tony was becoming increasingly closer to peak- especially as his prick returned to the full, enclosing warmth of his PA's mouth and her tongue began to stroke him from base-to-head. His juddering was becoming more and more obvious- and his grasping hands were inadvertently pressing her head closer towards his body as he felt even more desperately closer to orgasm...

Once again: she stopped.

"PE-PPER-!" Tony instantly roared with an irrepressible rage born of complete denial when he had been _so damn close_. But Pepper just rose to her feet again, facing him and ignoring the steel-edged notes of anger in his voice, smiling sweetly- the sweetest she had smiled all night, and she had smiled a variety of smiles- before pressing her body to his and locking their lips together, one leg lifting to caress her inner thigh- which was a little slick in itself- against his leg. Her actions shocked him into instant silence and he tasted a little of himself on her tongue as it slid into his mouth. Thumb, prick, tongue... she could create all sorts of mind-blowing feelings by just using that one, little muscle on each of the separate parts of his body... and as much as she drove him absolutely _insane_ with her unorthodox ways of making him almost _painfully_ aroused... sometimes he had to mentally kick himself as a reminder that she no doubt had some greater plan at hand...

Her teeth bit down on his lower lip and her tongue dashed across it as she pulled it gently closer, smoothly rocking her hips against his so that her stomach continued to rub his now-throbbing erection somewhat. He could have killed her- had he not wanted to fuck her so badly...

"_Hold me,_" she whispered breathily in his ear, breaking their contact for just a second.

"Ngh...?" Tony responded- it was more of a sound than a word, his mind so busily swimming with lust and desire for this crazy woman that he was having trouble articulating. That was refreshing. A tongue-tied Tony Stark.

She didn't repeat herself or go into any depth in explaining- she simply went onto tiptoes on the foot that had remained firmly on the ground, once again grasped the base of his erection, and guided the head inside of her, arching her own back with pleasure and gasping a single, sweet note. He didn't need telling twice, now, and he firmly grasped her buttocks and she enfolded her arms around the back of his neck, holding her up and against him as he sank his entire length into her. If it was even possible, the pressure was even tighter and sweeter than that she could create with her mouth, and the two lovers- employer and employee- both uttered guttural moans of bliss. She wrapped her legs around him and he quickly moved to press her back against the tiles of the shower for additional support- as, despite his strength, he knew he wouldn't be able to hold her long otherwise. She hissed a little at the unexpected coldness, but the pleasure as his prick retreated and then penetrated her again- with the additional silencer of his mouth returning to hers- soon made her quiet, if the muffled moans of desire could be considered "quiet".

The water thudded between them and splashed down their faces and between their tightly-pressed bodies as their tongues twisted and tangled together within the passion of their kiss. Tony continued to thrust in and out of her, his pace quickening as he felt himself swiftly returning to peak once again. A momentary flash of worry crossed his mind as he realised that Pepper had not received any kind of oral attention herself, but the sharp moans and cries that came from between her lips as they paused for breath assured him that she was close anyhow.

His hand moved to hold her shoulder so that he had a better grip on her soaking form, while the other moved to her breast- thumb roughly stroking her already-erect nipple and bringing forth another tortured moan on her part. She had moved so fast to pleasure him- so crazily, uncontrollably fast- that she hadn't given him a chance to have his own way with her... but that simple touch seemed to drive her wild. He brought his head closer to her face and pressed his lips to her ear, tongue curling there for a brief moment before he struggled slightly to travel her jaw line- finding it difficult to concentrate on breasts, jaw, and fucking all at the same time.

"Guh... Tony... Tony..." she began to mutter passionately over and over again, so his attention was diverted back to the fucking-her-soundly part of the game. He thrust deeply and then withdrew almost fully several times- however, the short time it took seemingly too long for Pepper to cope with as she pressed down hard, almost forcing him back inside of her at an even quicker pace. "Tony...!" she cried again, loudly, her face etched with a picture of bliss. That was enough to push him completely over the edge and he, _finally_, climaxed hard, prick buried deep inside as he groaned with pleasure and pent-up passion. Pepper, too, clenched her thighs hard around him as she came with the same fervour, her eyes closing for an achingly long time and her mouth parting completely out of her own accord. She remained pressed against the tiles as the two panted exhaustedly together, Pepper's head leaning slightly forwards and Tony's lips pressing against her forehead. She tasted of water and salt.

"Fucking... hell..." Tony murmured almost unintelligibly. "That was... you are... fucking..."

"Amazing, I know," Pepper chuckled very quietly, tilting his head up a little and nuzzling her nose to his. "You aren't so bad, yourself, you know," she added with a little of the familiar Pepper sarcasm from before. He was too content to really care, however. He shakily slipped his now-spent erection from her soaking warmth and put her down, but she slipped her hand in his and guided him onto the floor with her. He sat with his back against the tiles- and she made a face as he opened his mouth to protest about the coldness- and she curled up in his lap, exhausted.

The water continued to fall, though somehow its heat could no longer come close to the fever-pitch they had reached, and instead its temperature was closer to pleasantly cool on their steaming bodies.

"So much for getting _clean_," Tony commented absentmindedly as he made lazy circles on her stomach and breasts with absentminded fingers. It was like being drunk, again.

"I could hardly let you down, now, could I?" Pepper murmured, fighting against letting her eyelids from drooping. "You were already late, what does another thirty minutes... or an hour... make? But don't be expecting this _every_ time... you're not abroad very often..."

"I could be, if this is what happens when I am."

The woman instantly glanced up at him with wide eyes.

"No, don't," she said quickly. "Just once every so often is perfectly fine by me. You don't even _go_ half the time..."

Tony chuckled at her sudden panic and gently held her chin, their lips meeting for a kiss that was more loving than passionate.

"Calm down, Miss Potts," he grinned. "How about this- for you, I will get back from this Jericho thing as soon as possible, and then make it up to _you_. How would you feel about _that_?"

Pepper sighed and rolled her eyes, but was obviously pleased at this.

"_That_ would make me _exceptionally_ happy, Mr. Stark."


End file.
